Good for the soul

Weekends are sooo good for the soul and this weekend was especially wonderful. I know I always complain about how I'm so ready to get out of Columbus but really when I'm on base or hanging out with friends its not so bad at all (Working in the community here? Well, that's totally a different story).

Friday night we had a fun dinner and movie date night with Ann & Derek, and of course the movie portion consisted of all three of our dogs running a racetrack around the house and jumping full hurdles over the couch haha. Saturday morning, Jake and I decided to have an official Pruitt house cleaning day. Seriously... we made a list of to-do's down to the nitty gritty things like cleaning the baseboards and blinds, and vacuuming underneath the couch cushions and behind furniture. Being that Jake and I are very systematic about the way we do things (and the minor fact that we both despise household chores), we went down our list and took turns choosing what we would do, and of course I opted out of dishes and laundry, my two never-ending enemies. And it was a longgg day but at the end we felt so productive and energized and proud of the fact that our house was now spic and span, even in the little places that only we would ever notice. Now if I could only find the motivation to tackle that upstairs hall closet...

Late Saturday afternoon, we headed across the street to a bbq birthday get-together for some friends. I got a chance to catch up with some of the wives that I don't see very often and it was so much fun. I'm really thankful to have met such great people here. Then at approximately 7:23pm, Ann called and we decided to go catch a chick flick at the movie theater only to find out that what we wanted to see started at 7:30! Determined to make it on time, I literally flew into my car, picked up Ann, and raced to town to the movie theater. We were so proud when we walked in to the opening credits of the movie... Yes!! I came home at 10:30 to find Jake pretty much where I had left him, sitting in our driveway with our neighbor, hanging out, enjoying the nice summer weather on a Saturday night, having totally forgotten for the time being about all the stresses of life... like I said, weekends are good for the soul.

The Sunday morning church service was wonderful as usual and very thought-provoking. We started a "FAQ" series at church where the pastor addresses tough questions that are often asked by believers. We spent the whole sermon diving into the Word to find the answers straight from the source. I liked this because when it comes to God I'm not one to just automatically believe everything a preacher says; I like to check things being referenced and learn the context of the passage to make sure I'm understanding it correctly. During the whole service I kept thinking of how thankful I am to have married a man so similar to me in this area. On biblical subjects that are often controversial or "debatable" we are a perfect match for eachother... solid as a rock on what we believe. I never have to worry about how we will raise our future children, or what type of church we will attend every time we move. Being this way makes marriage a thousand times easier and now I think I fully understand the whole Biblical idea of being "equally yolked" (2 Cor. 6:14-15). 

After church we enjoyed a nice lunch out and then I headed to the pool on base for a nice afternoon out with the girls. The pool just opened last weekend and it was just in time... its been so ridiculously hot and humid this past week! It was such a nice feeling to lay in the sun, relax, and catch up with my friends about everything going on in our lives. Every half hour or so the lifeguard would blow the whistle, which meant it was time for a 15 minute adult swim and all the kids would scramble out of the pool and then we would get in :) It was nice not to be splashed or hit in the face with beach balls... okay wait am I sounding old? Well I can't be that old because during the adult swim, Brittney and I realized that there was no longer a line for the waterslide and proceeded to go down it multiple times in a row, giggling like little kids as it would shoot us out like a canon. Ahh, so much fun! I really hope that was just the first of many more pool days this summer. 

Then last night, I made a yummy beef stew and cornbread dinner for Jake and I and got a little bit of work done on the computer while watching the MTV Movie Awards, which by the way was thoroughly unimpressive other than the new trailer they showed for Eclipse :) And now, its Monday and I'm back to the daily grind of juggling work and school and more work. It really was a wonderful and long weekend and for a Monday I am feeling oddly refreshed and ready for the long week ahead. Happy Monday everyone!!

Shoe troubles

When I was shopping this past weekend, I had one particular mission - find a good pair of simple black heels. Why did I so desperately need a new pair of black heels you ask? Well, not that I ever really need a reason (ha!) but as it turns out my cute little terror terrier Bailey has shown a particular interest lately in my black dress shoes. Bailey is not typically a shoe chewer but for some reason that girl has been lovin' a good pair of heels - and NOT in a good way!

In about the first 30 seconds she did strap damage to both my slingbacks... Possibly fixable? Not quite sure. See Exhibit A & B below.

Oh but here is my personal favorite. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you exhibit C. You can't quite tell from the picture but the entire screw is coming out of the bottom. I didn't even know that's what the inside of a heel looked like! haha

So anyways, I had exactly zero pairs of black heels left in my closet and that led to my particular mission to find a new pair, considering that's what I wear to work almost every single day. I was thrilled when I stumbled upon the pretty little patent leather peep-toes you see below (and marked down 75% too since its not exactly black shoe season...yess!). Now I am a happy, happy girl and needless to say when these shoes are off my feet they are locked up tight in my closet :)

Details of a great weekend

It's true, this weekend was FABULOUS! I knew we would have a great time on our trip to Alabama but wow it really was so much fun and exactly what we needed before heading into this busy month of June (What? It's June already??) Okay but before I tell you about our trip, let me fill you in on the outcome of assignment night! Derek and Ann weren't able to get the C-17 they had put as their first choice, but actually got assigned their second plane choice, a KC-135 to Fairchild AFB (near Spokane, WA). That is a really great assignment and it was nice to see their whole class get great assignments! I'm so happy for them but seeing their new assignment up on the screen made it so real that I will have to say goodbye to Ann soon :( They should be getting their orders with dates this week and I'm crossing my fingers that they can stay through the summer.

Right after assignment night, Jake and I drove to Ft. Rucker and despite hitting some horrible weather (I swear we actually saw a tornado funnel cloud in the distance) we made pretty good time and were there by 11pm. We were so excited to see Kevin and Katie - it had been way too long! On Saturday morning it was really nice out (ridiculously hot and humid, but still nice) so we decided to spend some time at the pool. Katie and Kevin had just bought a new jeep so we got to cruise  around base with the top down, hair blowing in the wind, enjoying the beginning of  wonderful summertime. Ahh, and what an amazing feeling it was to just lay out in the sun with friends and float around in the pool for a few hours! It's a good thing we decided to go in the morning though because afternoon brought some serious thunderstorms, as typical for summer in the south. Katie and I lounged around all afternoon and just caught up while the boys went off to talk planes (what else right?), look at the airfield, and check out the air museum. That night Becca (another friend from Columbus who moved to Ft. Rucker after track select) had us all over to her house for dinner and it was mm-mmm good!

On Sunday it was the girls turn for a day out so Katie and I headed to town for some serious shopping. I've been so deprived living in Columbus :) We had so much fun... but seriously, when do we not have fun together? We all went out to dinner and then it was time for Jake and I to say goodbye and head back home. The weekend flew by so fast - I wish we could've stayed!! Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Oh wait but one more thing... I just have to say that it was sooo cute watching Jake with their 7-month old baby Drew this weekend. I'm not sure if Jake will admit it, but he really loves babies and him and Drew were like best buds all weekend. Jake carried him everywhere, always talking to him and explaining things and really it just melted my heart! We're not quite ready for kids yet but when we are, I know I've definitely got the right man by my side. Okay okay, sorry back to the pictures...

Memorial Day Weekend

It's Friday!!! And even better - it's the Friday before a long three-day weekend. And even even better - Jake and I have got some really great things planned. Let's start with tonight. At 5pm, our best friends on base Ann & Derek are getting their new assignment. O.M.G. that's crazy! Derek is only three classes ahead of Jake and I remember thinking a year ago that when it was time for their assignment night it would mean that we were almost to ours. I'm so nervous and anxious for them but Derek has done extremely well in UPT so I have no doubt that they'll get one of their top choices (and what's awesome is that our top choices are the same so maybe if we both get what we want we can be stationed together). Poor Ann has been going crazy with the anticipation of finding out where they'll be moving and when. I think she's holding it together well considering... I know I'm going to be a wreck on the day of our assignment night (July 30th!!). My hope is that they get their top choice, which is C-17s to Travis, but they won't have to leave until after July. I know that's selfish but I just can't imagine being here without Ann. Anyways, I am so excited for them and can't wait for tonight!!

But the fun does not stop there, oh no no. Right after assignment night is over, Jake and I will be jumping into our pre-packed car and driving straight to Alabama to spend the weekend with our good friends Katie & Kevin (and of course their sweet baby Drew). Kevin used to be in Jake's UPT class but at Track Select back in February he got the helicopter training track which moved them to Ft. Rucker (about 5 hours away). They were some of our closest friends on base and its been months since we've seen eachother. Katie was so sweet to invite us to spend the weekend with them and of course we jumped at the chance!

So with all this fun stuff going on, I don't plan to be on my computer at all until Monday (I know, I know... thats crazy for me). I don't intend to blog or email or anything, but I figure everyone else will be out enjoying their holiday weekend too so I doubt anyone will notice my short leave of absence.

Memorial Day Weekend here I come! Now if only I could fast-forward through this long workday ahead of me...

Hoops

As usual, I have experienced another area of life where the military is making me jump through hoops. In the past I've battled the hoops of the AF with everything from getting married to finishing school to stressing about how the heck I was ever going to have a career while moving around whenever they say "go". Thankfully, I have since found a career suitable to my life as a military spouse and could not be more thrilled about it. And since I do plan on making Lindsay Nicole Design Studio a long-time career, I've been careful to gather all the information I need to get this business started on the right foot, including web research, buying books, and racking the brains of successful small business owners; not to mention the time and money I've invested into my site and logo branding as well as enrolling in school to provide myself with the advanced technical training that I need. And while all that is great, there is a whole other legal side to starting a business that can be quite overwhelming - Business licensing, tax preparation, home occupation permit, DBA registration, getting a business bank account, etc. Yeah there's a TON of stuff that goes into doing things right.

I decided to just start at the top of the list and work down and that's when I ran into a majorly confusing issue courtesy of the Air Force... where do I even register this business? Okay follow me here... I am still technically a resident of California but have a current address in Mississippi. My business is online but technically run out of my home, which again is in Mississippi. I pay taxes in California, Jake pays taxes in Oregon (where he is still a resident), and we both pay a small amount of taxes in Mississippi. If I were to register the business in Mississippi, I would have to change all the information and repay all the licensing fees as soon as we move in a few months, and would have to continue to do that every single time we changed locations. No thank you. You'd think there would be tons of information about military spouses starting businesses all over the internet since that is such an ideal career for us, but there is really nothing.

Well being the "go-getter" that I am, I decided to make some calls and figure this thing out. After several phone calls to random government offices (and too many times repeating the spiel in the paragraph above) I finally met a really nice and helpful lady at the City Hall in my hometown in California. She listened to all my concerns and then we addressed them one at a time. She took the time to list out all my legal options and even put dollar amounts to each one. Finally we got it figured out... I will register my business in California and receive my business license and DBA through Stanislaus County (being that I pay taxes there, that is the easiest way to go tax-wise). I'm able to use my parents CA address for my business and home occupation permit, which is fine because I conduct business solely online, and will open a business bank account with that address, which I can also run and control online. With this setup, I will not have to change my information every time we move and can avoid a lot of unnecessary confusion and fees. Whew!

Like I said, hoops. Thankfully I'm just about done with that whole process and now feel like I finally have all my bases covered. Yes, Lindsay Nicole Design Studio is official and I can't wait to start designing full time come August :) And speaking of the studio, I have already filled over half my summer design slots so hurry and contact me if you still want to grab one!